Over 80 members enjoyed a trip to see the Birmingham canals and landmarks.
This trip proved to be so popular that we had to run it on two consecutive days!
We travelled up to Birmingham by coach and then boarded the 'Euphrates' narrow boat for a tour of the Birmingham canals, with a commentary on their history along the way.
After the boat trip, we were met by our guide Mary Moore who was able to point out the best places for lunch!
After lunch, Mary conducted a coach tour of many of the BIrmingham landmarks, including the City Centre, Edgbaston, Bournville and the site of the old BBC Pebble MIll studios. Touring the Bournville estate was particularly interesting, hearing how it was created by the Cadbury family to improve the living conditions of its workforce - ' happy workers are productive workers'. Many of the values of the Cadbury family are maintained to this day on the estate - no alcohol, no fast food and everyone has to keep their gardens clean and tidy.
The coach tour finished up in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter where there are over 700 businesses concerned with the making and selling of jewellery, gold and silver items. Over 40% of the jewellery sold in the UK is made here.
From the Jewellery Quarter, we bid farewell to our excellent guide, Mary, and returned safely home.